Alexis Luthor (Earth-One)
* There is a noted discrepancy between Lex Luthor's chronological age in relation to that of Superman's. Both men are approximately the same age, as revealed when they first met as teenagers in ''Adventure Comics'' #271. However, in ''Adventure Comics'' #253, Superboy passed Luthor on the street, and Luthor was significantly older than the Boy of Steel, and still had a head full of hair (even though he had lost it during his first encounter with Superboy). No explanation has ever been provided for the discrepancy, nor has the Earth-One canonicity of the older Luthor ever been repudiated. * Lex Luthor originally had brown hair unlike his other dimensional counterparts who had naturally red hair. Alexei Luthor of Earth-Two for example had a full head of hair and was clean shaven; Alexander Luthor, Sr. of Earth-Three was bald with a red goatee; and the modern incarnation of Luthor was first shown with a receding mane of red hair. * A common misconception is that Lex's full name is "Alexander" akin to other interdimensional counterparts such as the Earth-Three Luthor, but this is a mistake as his full name is simply Lex. | Trivia = * In 1986, author Alan Moore wrote a two-part imaginary tale which represented the swan song saga of the Pre-Crisis Superman family of characters. Beginning in ''Superman'' (Volume 1) #123 and concluding in ''Action Comics'' #583, the story revealed that Lex Luthor had cybernetically interfaced with his old partner Brainiac. This plot device was later revisited in several of the final season episodes of Justice League Unlimited, in which Luthor was the leader of a cadre of super-villains. Luthor's team was reminiscent of the Legion of Doom from the Challenge of the Super Friends animated series. * In the WB/CW television series Smallville, a young Lex Luthor (played by Michael Rosenbaum) becomes close friends with Tom Welling's Clark Kent. Their friendship (and subsequent falling out) is similar to the original flashback meeting between the Silver Age Luthor and Superboy. Like the original story, young Clark is indirectly responsible for Luthor's hair loss, although in Smallville, it is actually radiation from the meteor shower (caught in the wake of Clark's rocket ship) that ultimately causes Lex's hair to fall out. * After a time-traveling adventure with Superman, Lex Luthor inadvertently caused the infamous San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Superman (Volume 1) #168 Other Media This section pertains only to the Pre-Crisis version of Lex Luthor. * The first media appearance of the bald-headed and thus thought of Earth-One Lex Luthor was in the fifteen-chapter 1950 movie serial known as Atom Man vs. Superman. However Luthor had been bald since the mid 1940s despite being in the so called "Golden Age" era that is attributed to Alexei Luthor of Earth Two who always had his full red hair. Lyle Talbot played the role of the villainous Luthor and starred opposite Kirk Alyn's titular protagonist, Superman. In this storyline, Luthor embodies the archetype of the mad scientist and threatens the citizens of Metropolis with various death-rays, teleportation devices and super-scientific explosives. In the tradition of comic storytelling devices, this version of Luthor functioned as both an Earth-One and Earth-Two incarnation of the character. * The first animated version of Lex Luthor was featured in the 1966 animated series, the The New Adventures of Superman where he appeared in three episodes. * Voice actor Stan Jones provided the voice for Lex Luthor on the 1978 animated series the Challenge of the Super Friends. This version of Luthor was very similar to the Pre-Crisis Earth-One version in that he was a highly intelligent scientist, armed with a never-ending supply of futuristic gadgets and prone to fits of triumphantly villainous laughter. Although commonly recognized as the nemesis of Superman, this Luthor waged war against not only the Man of Steel, but the entire Justice League of America. To consolidate his power base, he gathered together his own band of criminals and united them under the banner of the Legion of Doom. In fact most of the villians of this group were Superman and Batman's old foes including Bizarro (who wore a reverse copy of the Earth-Two Superman S shield complete with tilted S and tails than the ball-ended Superman (Earth-One) S symbol, Brainiac and The Riddler and Scarecrow. Although each member of the Legion of Doom possessed their own motivations, they all agreed to follow Luthor's lead in each of their endeavors. Luthor's Legion were governed by two simultaneous objectives: the defeat of the Super Friends, and total conquest of the Earth. Although the Legion of Doom succeeded in capturing the Super Friends on many occasions, they have never managed to decisively defeat them. ]] * Arguably, the most famous version of the Luthor character to date was the one portrayed in the 1978 Warner Bros. feature film, ''Superman: The Movie, as well as its numerous sequels. The role was initially played by Gene Hackman with a revisionist characterization later provided by Kevin Spacey for the 2006 film Superman Returns. Hackman's portrayal of Luthor was more comically aloof than his comic book counterpart, often bandying words with colorful cohorts such as the sycophantic Otis, and the voluptuous Eve Teschmacher. In the movies, Luthor was less the mad scientist portrayed in earlier depictions, and more of an ambitious grifter, with grandiose dreams of over-the-top real estate scams. In Superman: The Movie, Luthor purchases vast expanses of western desert, with the intention of raising its value by wiping the state of California off the map. Naturally, Superman (played by Christopher Reeve) foils Luthor's plan and saves the day. Superman takes Luthor to prison, but it isn't long before the follically-challenged Luthor is free and plotting out his next scheme. Hackman's character eventually aligns himself with three evil Kryptonians, who, like himself, wish to take over the planet Earth (which they mistakenly refer to as the planet Houston). Luthor even succeeds in sweet-talking the Kryptonian commander, General Zod, into making him the ruler of Australia. Luthor's dreams of an empirical Outback are quickly shattered however, as Superman manages to rid Earth of the three Kryptonians and arrest Luthor once again. Hackman reprised the role of Lex Luthor one final time in the franchise's third sequel, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. In this film, Luthor is out of prison and seeking to destroy Superman by pitting him against his own solar-powered creation, Nuclear Man. * In 2005, director Bryan Singer began filming Superman Returns. Superman Returns is tangentially tied to the continuity of the first two Superman films, while ignoring Superman III and IV. For Superman Returns, actor Kevin Spacey donned the skullcap and offered forth his portrayal of the Man of Steel's arch-rival. To maintain consistency, Spacey patterned his version of Luthor after the work originally provided by Gene Hackman in the previous films. Ironically, Superman Returns is not the first time that Spacey has played a bald megalomaniacal genius. The 2002 comedy Austin Powers: Goldmember featured a film-within-a-film entitled Austinpussy (which was originally slated to be the name of the actual movie). Spacey appeared in a cameo portraying the role of Dr. Evil, a character nominally played by series creator Mike Myers. Modern DC comic writers payed tribute to Spacey's Lex Luthor in the 2006 storyline, Up, Up, and Away, an eight-part saga which crossed over between alternating issues of Superman (Volume 1) and Action Comics. Although released in 2006, the Luthor of Superman Returns is intended to reflect the Silver Age Lex Luthor. | CustomSection1 = Recommended Reading | CustomText1 = * Action Comics * Superboy (Volume 1) * Super Friends * Superman (Volume 1) * World's Finest (Volume 1) * Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #14 | CustomSection2 = Related Articles | CustomText2 = * Lex Luthor image gallery * Lex Luthor (Earth-One) appearances list * Lex Luthor quotes page * Superman (Earth-One) | Links = * Lex Luthor article at Wikipedia * Lex Luthor article at Supermanica * Lex Luthor article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * Lex Luthor article at JLA Database }} Category:Characters Category:American Category:Apocryphal Characters Category:Bad Characters Category:Bald Characters Category:Legion of Doom members Category:Living Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Public Identity Category:Scientists Category:Silver Age Category:Superman villains Category:Widowed Characters